CEBU CITY: A total of PHP2.4 billion in cash assistance were distributed to over half a million individuals in Central Visayas who are in crisis situations in 2023, a social welfare official said on Tuesday.

Shalaine Marie Lucero, regional director of the Department of Social Welfare and Development-Central Visayas, said the 500,190 individuals were given aid, under the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) program, to support their families’ living expenses while recovering from unexpected crises.

‘The program extends various types of assistance, like medical, burial, educational, transportation, food, and material, through cash, family food packs, or a guarantee letter,’ she told Philippine News Agency.

Lucero said 9,205 individuals availed the assistance through referrals from the Malasakit Centers in public hospitals.

Other clients who availed of the assistance were walk-ins at the DSWD-Central Visayas’ Crisis Intervention Section (CIS) in Cebu City, Social Welfare and Development offi
ces in Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor, and satellite offices in various provinces.

AICS has 1,048 offsite payouts across the region to accommodate directly the individuals referred by local government units, Lucero added.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Philippines is one of the seven countries that the US will be partnering with to diversify its semiconductor supply chain under the CHIPS and Science Act, according to visiting United States Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jose Fernandez.

Fernandez told reporters Tuesday that the Philippines, along with Vietnam, Panama, Puerto Rico, and Mexico will receive funding from the US government to make the ecosystem of their local semiconductor industry more conducive to US investors.

“We’ve picked seven countries, only seven countries to work with. And we pick those countries on the basis of their potential to support semiconductors, supply chains back home,” Fernandez said.

He said the US government has earmarked USD500 million for the International Technology, Security, and Innovation (ITSI) Fund to be spent over the next five years in the partner countries.

“The ITSI Fund, it serves to galvanize private investments and workforce development, which at the end of the
day will lead our efforts to expand the semiconductor sector,” the US official added.

Fernandez said the US will soon receive recommendations from Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on how the US can help in strengthening the semiconductor sector in the Philippines.

Electronics and semiconductor products are the Philippines’ top merchandise export, sharing more than half of the country’s total export revenues.

The industry generated up to 2.5 million direct and indirect jobs.

Fernandez noted that 60 percent of the total investments in the semiconductor sector here came from US companies.

Signed by US President Joe Biden on Aug. 9, 2022, the “CHIPS and Science Act” authorizes investments in exploratory and translational research that will advance the most innovative ideas across all areas of science and engineering.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MALASIQUI: More than 74 percent of Rice Farmer Financial Assistance (RFFA) beneficiaries in Ilocos Region have received their PHP5,000 cash assistance as of Jan. 30.

Department of Agriculture (DA) Ilocos Region information officer Vida Cacal, in a phone interview on Tuesday, said about 173,850 of the 234,865 rice farmers, excluding those whose enrollment were generated in 2023, have collected the cash aid, aimed to cushion the impact of the El Niño phenomenon and the rising cost of production.

The DA has allocated PHP1.1 billion for the unconditional financial assistance program for the region, funded by the excess tariff under the Rice Tariffication Law in 2022.

Cacal said qualified rice farmer beneficiaries are those who are farming not more than two hectares of land and are registered in the Registry System for the Basic Sectors in Agriculture.

Of the total number of beneficiaries, 98,812 are from Pangasinan; 39,495 from La Union; 46,705 from Ilocos Sur; and 49,853 from Ilocos Norte.

‘The program aims
to enable farmers to cope with increasing cost of production to sustain their productivity,’ she said.

Cacal said some 42,917 new beneficiaries from the region will also receive the cash assistance this year.

‘There are new beneficiaries from the 2023 onwards registration but the funding is still being processed,’ she added.

Meanwhile, Cacal said 30 farmers, who have a total of 36 hectares of land in Barangay Evangelista in Tayug, Pangasinan, have reported total damage of rice crops due to the dry spell.

‘Based on their assessment, it was beyond recovery,’ she said.

The farmers requested corn seeds subsidy from DA to cover their losses, she added

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: A tunnel boring machine (TBM) will be transported from Manila to Pasig City for the Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP) and may cause traffic congestion during the off hours of Feb. 2 to Feb. 5.

In a traffic advisory on Tuesday, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said the TBM will be taken from the Manila Harbor Centre Port in Manila to Doña Julia Vargas Avenue in Pasig City from 10 p.m. until 4 a.m. on the said dates.

‘The TBM will be used in the construction of the tunnels that shall connect MMSP’s Ortigas Avenue Station, Shaw Boulevard Station, and Kalayaan Avenue Station,’ the DOTr said.

Specifically, it warned motorists of possible congestion at 5th Ave. from 11 p.m. until 12 a.m., General Araneta Ave. from 12 a.m to 1 a.m., Gilmore Ave. from 1 a.m. to 2 a.m., Ortigas Ave – C5 Road from 2:30 a.m. to 3:30 am., and Doña Julia Vargas Ave. from 3:30 a.m. to 4 a.m.

‘We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding,’ it said.

The MMSP is a big-ticket project of the Marco
s administration and will have 17 subway stations covering 33 kilometers from Valenzuela City to Parañaque City, with a spur line to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 in Pasay City.

Once completed, the subway system will reduce travel time from Valenzuela City and Pasay City from 90 minutes to only 35 minutes and will serve up to 500,000 passengers daily.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The local bourse recorded losses for two consecutive days, while the local currency finished weak on Tuesday.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) slipped 8.67 points to 6,622.01 level.

All Shares were flat closing at 3,487.71.

Sectoral indices were mixed with Mining and Oil, Holding Firms and Services ending in the green territory; while Industrial, Financials and Services declined.

Philstocks Financial, Inc. research and engagement officer Mikhail Plopenio said local shares slightly declined on profit-taking while also awaiting the country’s economic performance for the fourth quarter of 2023.

“Investors seem to have digested Moody’s Analytics’ Q4 (fourth quarter) 2023 GDP (gross domestic product) growth projection for the Philippines which is at 4.9 percent, slower than the previous quarter at 5.9 percent,” he said.

Plopenio added that worries over China’s economic growth also dampened investors’ sentiment.

Market participation in the local stock market reached PHP4.1 billion, lower th
an the month-to-date average of PHP4.39 billion.

Winners and losers were equal at 91, while 47 issues were left unchanged.

Meanwhile, the peso depreciated at 56.40 against the US dollar from 56.27 in the last trading.

It was strong opening at 56.30 from Monday’s kickoff at 56.40.

The currency pair traded between 56.20 to 56.48, bringing the average level for the day at 56.34 to a dollar.

Volume of trade stood at USD1.32 billion, higher than Monday’s volume of USD1.17 billion.

Source: Philippines News Agency

PUERTO: Residents of this province who want to travel to South Korea no longer need to go to Metro Manila to apply for their visas.

Local courier service provider W Express will launch its Postal Service Visa Application (PSVA) service on Feb. 1 in partnership with the Korea Visa Application Center (KVAC).

‘The visa application fee is PHP900 while the courier fee is PHP1,000. The Korean Embassy staff at the KVAC will still be in charge of checking the visa requirements, the company (W Express) will only transport the documents to them,’ Lani Jamora, officer-in-charge of the W Express branch in Puerto Princesa City, said in an interview on Tuesday.

Applicants are required to present a government-issued identification for verification and pay non-refundable fees for W Express and KVAC services.

They will receive emails and text messages confirming the acceptance of their documents.

In case KVAC identifies any missing or additional documents, the applicant must submit them via the same W Express branch
within seven working days without additional fees, Jamora said.

Meanwhile, the KVAC ‘s Philippine office, located in Taguig City, announced that select W Express branches will accept C-3-9 Tourist Visa applications for short-term stays or under 59 days.

Since Aug. 29, visa applications and releasing of passports are no longer conducted within the Korean Embassy premises.

It can be recalled that the Puerto Princesa and Seogwipo (Jeju) local governments launched an initiative to make travel between the two cities more convenient in order to enhance tourism and cultural exchange.

In December, the Seogwipo (Jeju) Tourist Center and Korean Tourism Information Center opened here to provide a lifeline home for the Korean community in Puerto Princesa and the wider Palawan area.

Source: Philippines News Agency